


Scarred

by skitzzo



Category: Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (Cartoon)
Genre: Angst, Big Uh Oh, Tangled the series - Freeform, Team Awesome
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-13
Updated: 2020-04-13
Packaged: 2021-03-02 05:40:45
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,192
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23639992
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/skitzzo/pseuds/skitzzo
Summary: In which an accident in Varian’s lab leads to Eugene making a difficult decision
Comments: 6
Kudos: 74





	Scarred

**Author's Note:**

> Yet another Team Awesome angst .... enjoy!

"Thanks again for accompanying me today, Eugene." Varian said as he walked over to a long, oak wood table that was covered by variously sized beakers, test tubes and other science contraptions.  
"Eeeh, I figured you could use some company," Eugene shrugged casually, "Besides, it's been pretty slow at the castle lately, so I think I can spare a hour or two."  
The two were at Varian's home in Old Corona—more specifically, his grand alchemy lab. Having had completed all his Royal Engineer tasks early, Varian was able to take a trip home to indulge in his favourite activity: alchemy. There were several experiments he had left unfinished, and he was just itching to continue and complete them. However, Quirin had other things that needed his attention; so Eugene offered to come with him so he wouldn't be alone.  
"Well, I can't promise that it'll be as exciting as a normal day in the life of the Captain of the Royal Guard, but I can try to make it interesting and interactive rather than you just staring and watching me for the entire time." Varian spoke absentmindedly as he moved chemical stained but otherwise empty beakers, clinking noises enacting as he did so. "Maybe you can help me combine two formulas or something."  
"Woah, are you sure I'm qualified enough to do any of that science-y stuff there? I wouldn't want to ruin anything." Eugene put his hands in front of himself defensively.  
"Oh, sure you are, it's just a simple drip and drop with an eyedropper, nothing big."  
"Alright then," Eugene clicked his tongue and leaned his side against the end of the wooden table, allowing Varian to use the wide middle for his experiments, "Show me how it's done."  
"It's simple, really," Varian picked up a beaker full of orange liquid from the back of the table, "This compound is called.."  
As he went on with his scientific explanation, Eugene listened respectfully, nodding at appropriate times and making sure to look up at him whenever he looked over to make sure he was still paying attention. Eugene will sheepishly admit that he did drift off into a daydream a few times, but was it really his fault when he couldn't understand half of what he was saying? Though every time he caught his attention fading, he'd make a strong effort to pay extreme attention to every movement and word Varian did and spoke.  
Even if he didn't understand the science talk Varian spoke, Eugene did have a deep respect for the alchemist and what he did. Science, especially alchemy, was difficult. More difficult for him than for others perhaps, but it was still a tough subject to learn. So for Varian to be an expert on the topic was quite remarkable. Not only that, but his intelligence in general continued to impress and surprise Eugene with each passing day. He was a remarkable kid, and Eugene was glad to be friends—Team Awesome—with him.  
"And if my calculations are correct, then when we combine this compound with the other compound, it should..." Varian trailed off, putting his complete focus into the full eyedropper held in his gloved hand containing one compound as he moved it to the other.  
"Should..?"  
With a simple squeeze of the red rubber top, the first compound spilled from the eyedropper down into the beaker holding the second compound. When they mixed, the new compound's colour changed to a bright, luminescent pink and it began to bubble. The frothy light pink bubbles rose high, growing up to be near millimetres away from the rim of the beaker  
Eugene put one hand on Varian's shoulder and the other on the handle of his sword, of which was resting peacefully in it's brown leather holster on his back, "What's happening?" He asked apprehensively.  
"Just wait." Varian put a hand up in front of Eugene's chest, watching the beaker with narrowed eyes. It was then Eugene realized Varian had his goggles down over his eyes rather than having them at their usual casual position, resting on the top of his head. Eye protection was a necessity for science, he supposed.  
After a few tense moments, the bubbles died down, leaving the compound in the beaker basking quietly and peacefully as if nothing had happened. When Varian grinned widely, approaching and picking up the beaker, Eugene slouched in relief and allowed his hand to leave his sword grip. His hand smacked against his thigh as his arm relaxed. A heavy breath escaped his lungs, causing Varian to glance at him over his shoulder.  
"What did you think was going to happen?" He snickered, "I know what I'm doing, Eugene. I'm an _alchemist_ , not an idiot."  
"Really? Are you sure?" Eugene scoffed, laughing when the younger hit his shoulder with a frown, "I'm kidding! And besides, you may not be an idiot, but when it comes to this science stuff, I am. So how could I have known?"  
Setting the beaker to the side, Varian shrugged, "I suppose that's fair. Well, I'll have you know, there's nothing to fear—" He stopped at Eugene raising an eyebrow and rolled his eyes, "— _almost_ nothing to fear when I'm in the lab."  
"If you say so." Eugene went to survey the rest of the table. He eyed a contraption in the far right corner that raised his curiosity, but also knew that he knew if he asked about it would win him a front row ticket to a twenty minute scientific explanation with words he has never heard in his life. So he remained quiet. "So what's next, alchemist?"  
Varian intertwined his fingers and stretched them out in front of his chest, cracking them satisfyingly, "I have a few more experiments that I want to try and test out, which could take a while. You sure you want to stick around?"  
"Mhm, positive."  
"Alright, I'll still try and find something for you to do so it won't be completely boring." Varian's gaze went from Eugene to the table. He reached to the middle of a messy cluster of colourfully stained beakers, grabbing the neck of one generously filled with a red liquid.  
Eugene stared at the beaker, "That there is a bit full, don't you think?"  
Varian raised it to his eye level and scrunched up his face, quietly analyzing it, "It's not that bad. I'll empty some out in the sink if it becomes necessary."  
Eugene trusted Varian. Really, he did. But he felt an uneasy feeling gurgling in his gut staring at the red liquid. He tried to push it away and ignore it, he trusted that Varian was smart enough to know good from bad. And if he tried to say anything, he'd probably roll his eyes and wave his wrist, saying how he was an alchemist and knew what he was doing. After all, he did, right?  
"See, with this experiment, what I'm planning to do is.." Varian began his scientific talk, his free hand skimming just above the contents on the table, "Now where is that other compound? Hold on a second Eugene, it's here somewhere, I know it."  
Eugene watched with arms crossed as Varian scanned his surroundings for that one specific compound he needed. He absentmindedly dusted the shoulder of his red Captain of the Guard with his fingertips and tilted his head, patiently waiting for him to find what he required and resume the science lesson. Reaching to a far back corner of the table, Varian sighed when he learned the same thing he had when he looked in the other places—what he was looking for wasn't there.  
He swung his arm back in defeat and sighed, thinking maybe he had left it in a different place somewhere. Perhaps it was in his toolbox at the castle. But his thoughts were quite suddenly interrupted when his elbow thwacked the pink compound he had set down earlier, knocking it off the table, causing the beaker to shatter into numerous pieces and the compound to spill into a glowing pink puddle on the ground, much to his dismay.  
"Great, just my luck!" Varian exclaimed sarcastically. He examined the puddle for a quiet moment, then sighed. He squatted down to get a closer look, "I think I have a neutralizing particle somewhere, I just—” suddenly, a rough gasp escaped him as some of the red compound from the beaker in his hands spilled and mixed with the pink compound on the ground. Immediately he got up and backed up, his shoulders colliding with Eugene's chest.  
Eugene stared at the red and pink puddle with cautious eyes, "What was that?"  
"That red compound was highly unstable!" Varian shakily set the beaker down on the table and put his hands in his hair nervously.  
"What does that mean?"  
"It means—" Varian tried to explain, but stopped when the puddle burst into a tall, bright orange flame. Both of their eyes widened, "Bad things! Very bad things!"  
The flame danced wildly and menacingly, reaching up to about Varian's knee in height. Intimidating both Eugene and Varian into a shocked silence, they weren’t quite sure what to do. Taking advantage of their pause, the flame wasted no time spreading to the flammable wooden table next to it, immediately engulfing the wide table in flickering fire.  
"It's going to spread to the walls and take down the whole house!" Eugene finally snapped out of his daze, protectively grabbing Varian by the shoulders, "We have to go, go get help. Now, before it's too late!"  
It took him a couple of moments, but the alchemist finally snapped out of his daze and shook his head to recollect himself. He looked over at Eugene, "No! I know my dad keeps a fire extinguisher in the back room, I can run and get it and put it out! Please!"  
"Varian, by the time you get back, it could be too late!"  
"I know exactly where it is, I swear! I'll be less than thirty seconds!" Varian begged desperately.  
Eugene sucked in a heavy breath, noticing the air was slowly beginning to feel smoky. They only had so much time. "Varian—"  
"Please!"  
"...Go now. Quickly." Eugene ordered. Varian nodded and bolted away to what he presumed was the back room.  
What was he supposed to do in the time he was gone? True, it was a short time frame, only about twenty-five seconds; but in that moment, each second felt like a year while Eugene watched the flames roar and continue to grow taller and taller. He didn't know which would catch fire first, the roof or the walls. Either possibility terrified him. The heat grew, and Eugene felt himself break into a hot sweat. From nerves or the temperature, he wasn't sure, but his heart pounded as his gaze frantically went back and forth, from the bonfire of a table to the direction Varian went off in.  
Eugene tried to keep his thoughts positive. That was something Rapunzel had taught him—no matter the situation, as long as you kept your spirits up, it should work out in your favour. So he chose to imagine an outcome where Varian ran back in with the fire extinguisher and put out the fire, they had a stressed laugh about it and went to buy a new table. Preferably one not made out of wood.  
His thoughts were jarringly interrupted when the sound of glass cracking enacted. It was barely audible over the threatening crackle of the fire, but it was definitely there. Eugene whipped his head around for the source of the noise, but it didn't take long for it to reveal itself. Suddenly, one deep sounding crack echoed throughout, and shards of glass shot out from the table. Varian's beakers. A screech ripped from Eugene's throat as he ducked and put his arms in front of his face to protect himself. It was a futile effort however, as a thin but wide shard that spun in his direction sliced a clean mark in his cheek.  
Eugene let out a groan of pain. When the hailfire of glass stopped, he took down his arms and pressed a hand to his cheek, biting back a curse word when the fingers of his white glove came back with a thin red line across it. With the smoke slowly but surely obstructing his vision and the stinging sensation in his cheek strong, he prayed that Varian would come back soon and the outcome he daydreamed about would come true.  
As if on cue, Varian ran back into the room. Stumbling, but running, "Eugene! I got the fire extinguisher!" he announced.  
"Great, now put it out!" Eugene coughed out, grimacing at the feeling of smoke swirling in his lungs. Through narrowed eyes to protect his vision, he watched as Varian gripped the handle and aimed the nozzle towards the blazing table. Feeling a sudden burning sensation on his back, Eugene took a quick glance over his shoulder to see that the wall was now on fire—an answer to his ponder from earlier. They didn't have much time. Either Varian had to put out this fire now or they had to hightail it out of there if they wanted to escape with their lives. Making sure his aim was precise, Varian got ready to spray the fire extinguisher.  
Then, there was a distant rumbling. Eugene thought he was hallucinating from inhaling too much smoke at first, but after several seconds of it, he knew it was real. Blinking rapidly to subside smoke induced tears, he listened closely, face scrunched up in confusion. It took him a moment, but a quick gaze upwards gave him an answer. His jaw parted as he realized what was about to come. Thank god part of his Captain of the Royal Guard training was how to think quick and act fast.  
"Watch out!" Eugene yelled. He ran over to Varian and tackled him by his waist, earning a shout of surprise from him. The two slid against the floor before coming to a halt, and both looked at where Varian used to be standing. Not two seconds later the roof just above that spot came crashing down in a large heap that was just beginning to flame. If he had stayed where he was, he for sure would have been crushed and suffocated. The two looked at each other with terrified expressions. Varian didn't thank Eugene, but he didn't need to. He got the message from his face.  
Instead, Varian looked towards the pile of debris with a desperate look, "The fire extinguisher! No!"  
Eugene realized that when he tackled Varian, he knocked the fire extinguisher out of his hands in the process. A hunk of metal full of chemicals couldn't roll that far, so it got trapped under the disastrous mess. "Don’t worry about that! We have to get out of here, now!"  
"But I think I can reach it, it can't be that far under!"  
"Varian, no! You’ll get yourself killed!"  
"Just give me a chance!" Varian exclaimed, but by the way he said it, Eugene knew he wasn't willing to debate it any further. So he simply watched in horror as Varian kneeled to match the height of the messy pile and, careful to not touch any flames or sharp edges, reached his arm into the debris. His eyebrows knitted together as he felt around in the pile for the extinguisher, trying his best to ignore the rapidly increasing temperature.  
"Uh, Varian, have you found it yet?" Eugene spoke, his tone laced with high alarm. With what was left of his vision, he watched the flames horrifyingly wiggle as they spread to the roof. The roof was on fire. If Varian didn't find the extinguisher in the next ten seconds, he would pick him up like a potato sack and book it out of there whether he liked it or not. "Varian?!"  
Varian glanced over at Eugene and his scared expression, then at the pile in front of him that had a hot orange flame slowly spreading across it. He sighed, letting his shoulders drop, "Lets go get help, quickly!" he declared, a lazy, small smile of relief pulling on his lips as Eugene nodded and turned to run to the door. Varian went to pull his arm out of the burning lump, but he was abruptly stopped.  
By an _explosion_.  
Both Eugene and Varian screamed as the table exploded, wooden chunks flying every which way, thudding as they hit and bounced off of various surfaces. The explosion shook the house roughly, causing more chunks of roof to fall around them. By then, the fire was well on every wall and extremely hot. If the smoke didn't get to them first, then the heat would. Though, neither of them would take them, right? They were about to run out of there and get help to salvage as much of the house that they could. That thought is what motivated Eugene to get up from his knocked back position on the floor and continue running to the door, eyes squeezed shut to block away the thickening smoke. Though he only got two steps before he stopped.  
" _EUGENE!_ ”  
He stopped dead in his tracks, feeling his heart drop to his stomach. Immediately, he expected the absolute worst. And indeed, he was met with the absolute worst when he hesitantly turned to see Varian desperately reaching out with one arm—the other being trapped under a huge chunk of debris.  
Eugene's jaw dropped to the floor. Almost the entirety of Varian's forearm was pinned underneath all the rubble, his elbow, arm and shoulder wriggling violently as he tried to pull his arm free to no avail. Varian had failed to pull the entirety of his arm out before the explosion, causing freshly fallen roof and jagged pieces of wood to pin what he couldn't get out in and down. Varian's face was scrunched up in overwhelming pain as he held onto his arm with his free hand and pulled with all of his strength. Either he was extremely weak, or his arm was completely stuck. Maybe it was both.  
Sprinting over in large strides, Eugene held onto Varian's torso from behind and began to pull, no words exchanged. Eugene was a very strong man; he was Captain of the Royal Guard, he needed to be. With all the fights he's had and training he's endured, he could easily be one of the strongest men in Corona. But even with his strength, Varian's arm stayed threaded in the thick pile of debris. When the alchemist let out a sharp yell, Eugene stopped tugging before he pulled his arm out of the socket. Varian slouched over for a moment, panting as he stared blankly at his trapped arm. What was he supposed to do at this point?  
He hurriedly contemplated his possibilities, feeling like a tornado had ripped through his brain. He clenched his trapped hand into a fist and relaxed it several times to make sure he could still feel it. But then, he let out a sudden howl of pain and profusely pulled on his arm again, " _Fuck,_ " he groaned, squeezing his teeth so tightly that his jaw hurt. He blinked and tears spilled down his cheeks.  
"What?" Eugene jumped at his sudden action, placing a hand on Varian's back.  
"The.. The fire on the pile is spreading, and I think it's made its way into.. the space my arm is in." Varian spoke slowly due to the gradual but strong pain seeping into his arm.  
Eugene bit his lip anxiously. The building was crashing and burning around them, if they spent too much longer here they wouldn't live to see another day. But what was left to do? Varian's arm was trapped under a monstrous pile of flaming rubble, and Eugene refused to leave without him in tow. Which would come to his arm first, loss of circulation or severe burns? It wasn't too clear which. Watching as the young alchemist did everything in his power to try and free his arm—pulling, poking around some things on the outside with his free arm and even more pulling—Eugene felt tears of sorrow coming to his eyes, mixing with the smoke induced ones. It was impossible to not feel bad for him as he feared for his life, tears streaming down his cheeks.  
If only there was a way to just free him from his trapped arm, then they both could run out of there safely. To separate him from his arm, to remove it, to—  
Eugene physically stopped. The sword on his back suddenly felt extremely heavy. The realization dawned upon him.  
There was really only one option left, wasn't there?  
Sucking in a long, smoky breath that Eugene immediately regretted, he made intense eye contact with Varian, "Varian, do you trust me?"  
It took the alchemist a minute to respond, and when he did, it was through tears, "...What?"  
"I said, do you _trust_ me?" Eugene repeated solemnly, reaching a hand behind his back and gripping the handle of his sword. He gripped it so tightly that he was sure if you took off his white glove, you wouldn't be able to tell.  
"...Yes, but what does that have to do with—" Varian shakily began, but when his eyes went to Eugene's hand, he stopped. His face completely fell, and more tears began to generate in his eyes.  
Varian has been in terrifying situations before. Believe, he has. Walking in on his dad encased in amber, severing the red rock's fear power, falling useless and weak under the spell of the decay incantation. He could easily make up a list of the scariest moments of his life as he's had so many. But he'd never felt the kind of strong, hot fear exploding in his gut that he felt right then.  
"Just close your eyes and look away, I promise it'll all be over soon." Eugene squeezed Varian's free shoulder in an attempt to reassure him, but it was useless. Both the men were scared shitless, and didn't want what was coming. Varian opened his mouth to say something, perhaps a protest or some final words, but was interrupted by the thick grey smoke entering his lungs. After taking a moment to seemingly hack out his lungs, he went quiet. He looked down at the ground for a hard second, allowing this moment to process. Then he squeezed his eyes shut and looked in the opposite direction.  
Eugene pressed his lips together firmly, trying to keep himself together for Varian's sake. His grip on his sword tightened even more—if that was possible—and he readied himself to do what he had to do.  
But for some reason, no matter how much he willed himself to, he couldn't pull out his sword. Despite his strong hold, he just couldn't bring himself to it. Staring at the young boy's arm in front of him and thinking about what was about to happen made him dizzy, and the circling smoke only made it worse. On a normal day, Eugene wouldn't hesitate to neatly whip out his sword and threaten an enemy with it, or even slice them if it was necessary. It was part of his job, after all. But this wasn't an enemy, this was his best friend. This wasn't a criminal on a wanted poster, this was Varian, a young boy who loved alchemy, had friends and a whole life ahead of him. Two voices in his head loudly argued, one saying to just do it so they can escape, the other telling him that this was beyond inhumane and cruel. He didn't know which one to listen to. He didn't know. He didn't know.  
For a moment or two, Eugene spaced out, and the deafening crackles of the tall flames briefly left his mind. Could he really bring himself to do this? To his best friend? This would change both of their lives forever, not to mention the immense pain it would cause. His grip on the sword handle faltered.  
“Just do it.” Varian mumbled quietly. Only when he said this Eugene snapped out of his daze and realized that if he didn't do it, they both would die. No matter how much he would hate himself after it, it was better to lose an arm than your whole life.  
Mustering up all his willpower in courage, Eugene squeezed the handle of his sword with all the strength he could. In one swift movement, he unsheathed his sword, raised it high above his head and sliced down through Varian's arm.  
Immediately, Varian fell to his knees. His vision went completely white, and he hugged his torso with the one arm he had left. Excruciating pain shot throughout his entire body. It took everything in him to not pass out right then and there, deciding passing out in the middle of a fire wasn’t the best idea. Varian had no idea that a pain as strong as this was anywhere near possible. He whispered curse after curse, hoping it would somehow subdue the indescribable pain practically electrocuting him. The spot where Eugene had cut was burning with sharp and hot pain. Tears fell out of his eyes at what had to be a record breaking speed, and Varian tried everything to not think about how he just lost his entire forearm. Or look at the rubble where his arm was sticking out, for that matter.  
“Varian!” Eugene scooped the boy up into his arms, and if it wasn't for his ragged, choppy breathing, he would have thought he killed him. Trying to ignore the warm blood slowly seeping into his clothes from the hole in what was left of Varian's arm, he picked him up in bridal style. There was absolutely no way he could walk out of there—or any time soon, for that matter. A quick look at the younger boy's face made Eugene feel like he was hit by a bus; his face was as white as fresh snow, his lips were the palest pink possible, and his eyes were rolled back in a way Eugene knew just couldn't be natural.  
When a section of roof slammed to the floor right beside him, he quickly remembered the situation they were in. There was no time to play doctor. Pressing Varian's face into his chest so he wouldn't inhale any smoke, Eugene ran like he never ran before to the exit. It was difficult to see where he was going, and even harder to find the exit as the air nearly comprised 100% of thick black smoke, not to mention the fiery debris boulders obstructing his pth. But he carefully felt the walls around him, and using his little knowledge of the layout of the house, he managed to find the front door. The top half was almost completely burned down, but it was what he was looking for regardless. Eugene wound up a kick and burst the door open with the last bit of strength and dignity he had and stumbled out of the house, coughing wildly, eager to take in gulps of fresh, non-smoky air.  
When he could finally see, he looked up to see a group of people swarming him. They were all frantically asking him questions, but he couldn't hear what they were as so many people were asking. Eugene was trembling from what just happened, and a crowd of people circling him wasn't any help. Before he could tell them to screw off, he suddenly remembered the bleeding Varian in his arms.  
Eugene burst to his feet, "Doctor! Please, I need a doctor!" He yelled at the top of his lungs. Looking across the scene for a doctor also gave Eugene a chance to survey his surroundings. There was a large group of firefighters using a handtub to extinguish the fire from the outside, some of them exchanging panicked words. There was also a large group of Old Corona citizens in the front of the building, watching in horror as their town leader's home went up in flames.  
A group of people dressed in all white pushed through the crowd in response to Eugene's cry. They took one look at Varian and gasped, not hesitating to take the alchemist into their care and running off with him, most likely to perform an emergency surgery of some sort. Whatever it was, Eugene prayed desperately it would help him.  
He watched weakly as they ushered him away. If it wasn’t for the huge group of people who most likely all had their eyes on him and his status, he would burst out crying. For god's sake, he just hacked off his best friend's arm. He knew this would leave a deep, permanent scar in his heart. But he warded off any and all emotion and looked up at the sky, trying to find shapes in the clouds to take his mind off what happened.  
Suddenly, a voice called out, " _Eugene!_ "  
Hearing his name being yelled brought Eugene back ten minutes ago to when Varian did the same after being pinned under the debris, and he visibly flinched. He paved over his expression, and looked towards the direction the voice came from. His heart softened when he saw none other than Rapunzel running towards him.  
"Oh, Eugene!" Rapunzel sighed as she ran into his chest and hugged him tightly, "I was so worried. As soon as I heard the report of Quirin's home burning, I remembered you told me you were going there with Varian. I got so, so scared and came here as fast as I could. Are you okay? Is he okay?" She began to inspect his body for wounds, but paused. Her face dropped as she saw the bold red blood stain on his soft red and gold uniform, and the still wet blood on his sword, catching glimmers in the sunlight. "...Who's blood is that?"  
His gaze fell down to his sword, and he strongly grimaced. All the memories he had tried to push away came back into his mind like a hurricane. He should have left it in the burning home, but he was too focused on Varian to even give it a single thought. Baring his teeth, Eugene began to walk over a small lake near the back of the house.  
"Eugene! What's wrong?" Rapunzel called after him, quick to follow. Not breaking stride until he reached the edge of the lake, Eugene sighed at his reflection in the water. The scar on his cheek was now a mahogany scab. He glared at the weapon in his hands like it had deeply betrayed him in some way, when in fact that sword he had used in some of his best fights. Raising the sword high above his head, he dunked the blade of the sword into the blue water and wiggled it slightly.  
Quietly, he watched the blood break away from the silvery metal blade, similar to the breaking of his heart.


End file.
